Occupy SMA

By Jim Carey

These days, reading newspaper headlines in the US can be depressing: “Trump Fires Comey;” “New Election Analysis: Yes, It Really Was Blatant Racism That Gave Us President Donald Trump;” “Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson Resigns and Congress Slashes Census Budget, Possibly Imperiling 2020 Census and Congressional Redistricting;” “Are Trump Tweets Against Sally Yates Akin to Witness Tampering?” The list goes on. Still only two percent of his followers regret voting for him. The rest of us look to the future, hoping that the resistance against Trump and his Republican allies will stay the course.

Monday, we will see six short, inspiring films which show the fire and hope that sustained these courageous women who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015 and 2016: Zuzana Čaputová—Europe, Slovakia; Máxima Acuña—Peru, Northern Highlands; Destiny Watford—United States, Baltimore; Marilyn Baptiste—Canada, British Columbia; Phyllis Omido—Africa, Kenya; and Berta Cáceres from Honduras, Rio Blanco. Berta was awarded the prize in 2015 and she was assassinated in March 2016 in Honduras.

Each of them has a compelling story in which they fought against the “Corporate Trump Titans” in their land. Their actions, courage, and compassion are inspiring. Ordinary women act in extraordinary ways to protect the environment and their communities in these videos. You will see them working in their communities and hear their acceptance speeches for the environmental prize.

The Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s first and largest award honoring grassroots environmental activists, was founded by Richard and Rhoda Goldman in San Francisco in 1989.

The prize honors women and men who take sustained grassroots actions to protect the environment in their communities. These environmental heroes come from the world’s six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. Often these women and men are from isolated villages or inner cities where they choose to take great personal risks to safeguard the environment. These prize recipients focus on protecting endangered ecosystems and species, combating destructive development projects, promoting sustainability, influencing environmental policies, and striving for environmental justice. The film is 51 minutes and is followed by a discussion. Join us. All our events are free.